Thursday, October 30, 2008

This is the second of the three Vanity label 7"s. There isn't much info available for Mad Tea Party on the web. The only other recording I know of from them is their track from the excellent Foam compilation posted here last year.

As with the other two singles, this has a paste-on b&w picture glued onto the sleeve.

All three tracks vary in style. The first track, Hide and Seek, is a rock track with a garage sound and a punk-like bass line. It eventually cuts into an amazing break that I have not only sampled, but used as a ringtone for a while as well as my morning alarm on my Nabaztag. Yet another timeless gem from the Vanity label.

Modern Time's Pop is a drastic change to the previous track. A lighter piece with schoolgirl-ish singing and talking/muttering over backwards music. This is the closest to their contribution on the Foam compilation. I think it falls somewhere between Position Normal and TakakoMinekawa.

The last track, In a Tea Bag, is structured around a version of Hide and Seek heavy on drum effects with minimal vocals.

So, as I mentioned above, I liked the drum break on Hide and Seek so much that I sampled it. A few years ago, I put together an instrumental edit version of the track. I also worked on a remix that I never quite finished. Recently, I dug into both of these again and cleaned them up a bit, removing some sections, making them flow better, etc... They are both credited to AtlantisAudioArchive to avoid mistaking these for part of the actual release. The edit is based entirely on samples from the original track. The remix features bits of the original in addition to a few other samples.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of these. I promise the third 7" will be posted much quicker than this one....

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I will be making another DJ appearance at King & I Thai next Tuesday, Oct. 21st.

King & I Thai is located in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis. The address is 1346 LaSalle ave.

The food is excellent and there are drink specials as well.

The music starts around 10 and goes till close (2 am). I will be spinning in a similar groove to the Champion Superior Soundsystem nights from my DC days. Lots of African, Brazilian and other funky, jazzy grooves including Krautrock, soundtracks and music library LPs.

Friday, October 3, 2008

This is the first of three 7"s released by the Japanese label Vanity Records, all in 1980.

Sympathy Nervous released an amazing LP on the Vanity label, which is available at Mutant Sounds, as is a later cassette released on the Japanese label G.R.O.S.S.

The title track is proto-techno with a rubbery, yet metallic vocoder sound that carries throughout the piece. Track two, Polyester 35 Micron, is slower and reminds me of old Throbbing Gristle instrumentals. It also sounds the closest to their LP. The final track, d-b-TV, consists of out of control drum machines at full speed, synth growls and distorted vocals.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

For anyone in or near the Twin Cities area:I will be selling records at the bi-monthly MN Record Show this Saturday. It will be at the VFW at 2916 Lyndale Ave S. in Minneapolis, near Lake St. The show will be open from 9am to 4pm.

Most of the non-techno vinyl in my Discogs catalog will be there - many at reduced prices. A lot of other vinyl not listed there, as well as more goodies from my own collection will also be for sale.